BOSTON — Robert Cheruiyot is well-versed in the Boston Marathon course, with four victories in five trips from Hopkinton to the Back Bay.

Abderrahime Bouramdane visited for the first time yesterday, learning what thousands before him have come to understand as they reached Heartbreak Hill, 20 miles in.

"Up," he said, "is the problem."

Cheruiyot pulled away from Bouramdane as they entered the Newton Hills, reaching the crest of Heartbreak Hill with a 27-second lead and coasting to the sixth-fastest time in Boston Marathon history.

Dire Tune outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova after a back-and-forth last mile to win by 2 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women's race. Tune finished in 2 hours, 25 minutes, 25 seconds.

Cheruiyot, of Kenya, and Tune, of Ethiopia, each earned a recently enhanced prize of $150,000 — the biggest in major marathon history.

Cheruiyot won in 2:07:46 to become the fourth man to win the race four times.

"This was the hardest," Cheruiyot said. "Boston is not a very easy course, it's very difficult."

Mililani's David Eagar (2:50:00) was the top Hawai'i finisher.